Dog show has serious message for pet owners
By Rick Froese
Agassiz-Harrison Observer — October 13, 1998
A dazzling display of tricks by dogs delighted students and staff as Ben Kersen and the Wonderdogs entertained at Kent Elementary School last Thursday.
Yipping and yapping in excitement, the four well-trained border collie dogs named Shiloh, Shae, Hannah, and Hobie jumped, twisted, rolled over, walked, and fetched frisbees with such precision and agility seldom displayed by dogs.
For Kersen, his message behind the entertainment and laughter is clear.
With thousands of dogs being sent to animal shelters around B.C. on a yearly basis, the number of dogs destroyed is too high a cost to pay for something that could have been avoided.
“They’re looking for new homes because they are chewing up the furniture, they’re going to the bathroom on the living room floor,” said Kersen of Victoria.
“If the dog is sitting alone in the backyard and no one ever plays with it, of course it’s going to chew things up.” he added.
He urges dog owners to start training their dog at an early age and said seven weeks is not too early to start.
Kersen recommends using a gentle approach that is practiced regularly and consistently to solve many dogs’ behavior problems.
“We try to make it fun for the dogs as well as the trainers,” said Kersen. “If we can offer people the chance to learn about this training, they’ll discover it’s fun and fast.”